Carton tear strip opener



June 1, 1965 R. GUYER CARTON TEAR STRIP OPENER Filed Sept. 5. 1961 REY/vans Gum-R ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,186,623 CARTON TEAR STRIP OPENER Reynolds Gnyer, White Bear Lake, Minn., assignor to Waldorf Paper Products Company, Ramsey County, Minn, a corporation of Minnesota Filed Sept. 5, 1961, Ser. No. 135,945 Claims. (Cl. 229-51) This invention relates to an improvement in carton tear strip opener and deals particularly with a carton having a removable section which may very easily be removed.

In many types of cartons it is desirable to provide a potential removable portion through which the contents of the carton can be dispensed. For example, in tissue cartons and the like it is common practice to provide an elongated opening across the top panel of the carton through which the tissues may be individually drawn by the fingers. In view of the fact that the cartons must contain the product during shipment and storage, it is desirable that the carton be closed when supplied to the customer. While the use of removable portions in cartons of this type is old, one of the biggest difficulties has been the removal of the removable portion in a simple and effective manner. It is often diflicult to grasp the removable part in the fingers in order to pull it outwardly. If the removable portion is pushed inwardly, it remains within the carton.

An object of the present invention resides in the provision of a carton having a removable area which is defined by weakened lines of separation, and to provide in this removable portion a small tab which is cut in the removable area near one end thereof and which normally remains in the plane of the adjoining portion of the carton panel. By pressing inwardly on this tab, the tab may be flexed into the carton to the extent necessary to permit the finger to extend the removable area so that the end of this area may be grasped and the area removed from the carton panel by an upward pull thereupon.

One of the advantages of the arrangement described resides in the fact that the removable area need not be in any particular location to function for its intended purpose, and need not extend to the edges of the panel to function as described. In usual practice the removable areas extend to an edge of the panel so as to facilitate the engagement of the part to be removed.

These and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification:

FIGURE l is a perspective view of a typical carton showing the construction thereof.

FIGURE 2 is a View similar to FIGURE 1 showing the removable area partially removed.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the top of the carton showing the manner in which the tab may be flexed inwardly to accommodate the finger tip.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view through the panel of the carton from which the removable portion is being removed.

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic view of the inner surface of the blank from which the carton is formed.

FIGURE 6 is a detailed view showing a portion of the outersurface of the blank which contains the removable strip.

ping relation with the side wall panel 13 to form a tubular carton.

Closure flaps 20, 21, 22 and 23 are foldably connected to the ends of the panels 10, 11, 12, and 13 along parallel fold lines 24 and 25 which intersect the first-mentioned fold lines at right angles. These flaps are folded into superimposed relation to enclose the carton contents in the usual manner.

While the panels have been described as top, bottom and side wall panels, obviously this is only for the purpose of example. Furthermore, while the carton has been described as an ordinary past end carton, this is also for the purpose of illustration.

In the arrangement illustrated, the top panel 12 is disclosed as having a removable portion 26 which is midway between the fold lines 15 and 16 and which extends from one fold line 24 to the opposite fold line 25. The removable portion may be shorter or may be otherwise positioned and shaped if it is so desired. In forming the removable portion 26, a pair of spaced parallel cut lines 27 extend partially through the paper board from the inside surface of the blank and a second series of cut score lines 29 extend partially through the paper board from the outer surface. The cut lines 29 lie parallel to and spaced outwardly from the cut lines 27 so that the tear strip 26 may be removed readily by tearing the portion of. the stock intermediate the surfaces of the sheet between the adjacent cut lines 27 and 29. Cut lines 30 and 31 extend between the cut lines 27 and 29 forming the ends of the removable area 26 to facilitate the removal of this area.

A U-shaped cut line 32 is provided near one end of the removable area 26 with the closed end of the U directed toward the cut line 30 or 31. The U-shaped out line 32 defines a tab 33 which may be pressed downwardly or inwardly toward the interior of the carton when pressure is applied thereto. As a result of this arrangement, the carton may be readily opened by placing the forefinger against the tab 33 and flexing the free end of this tab downwardly. This permits the end of the finger to extend between the portion 34 of the removable area which lies between the closed end of the out line 32 and the out line 31 (in the arrangement illustrated) to exert a pull thereupon. The removable area may then be pulled upwardly and removed in the manner best illustrated in FIGURE 2 of the drawings. With this arrangement, most :of the difliculties previously experienced in opening cartons of this type have been eliminated. A slight downward pressure upon the tab 33 is sufficient to permit the fingernail or a flat blade to be inserted between the end portion 34 of the area 26 and when the carton is used to contain tissues which are to some extent compressible, the entire end of the finger may be readily inserted. Once the finger is beneath the end portion 34, the entire removable area may be quickly and easily ripped off providing access to the carton contents.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of construction and operation of my improvement in carton tear strip opener, and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A carton opener for use in removing a portion of a carton panel, the opener including an area encircled by weakened lines of separation, a tab defined by a cut line and flexible into and out of the plane of said panel, said tab being Within said area, spaced inwardly of said weakened lines of separation and adjoining a portion of said weakened lines of separation.

part of said weakened line of separation.

3.- A carton opener for use in removing a portionof a carton panel, the opener including an elongated area'defined; by weakened lines of separation, the ends of said area being defined by cut lines, and a tab defined by a cut line within said area and flexible out of the planeof said area, thetab being of sufficient size so that the area I carton panel, the opener including an elongated area defined by a pair of generally parallel cut scorelines extendiug into one surfaceofsaid panel, a second pair of cut score lines, between, and in side by side relation to, the first'narned cut score lines, and a pair of cut lines extending between said parallel cut'. score lines, at the ends thereof, and a tab defined by a generally U-shaped cut line between said parallel "cut score lines with the base of the .U-shaped cut line adjacent to one of said cut lines of said pair. V

Re fere'nces'Cited by the E'xaniiner V UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,261,240 4/18- Jenssen 220-54 12,626,096 1/53 Hickin 2 29-51 2,967,010 1/61 Cutfey et,al.' 229'-51 FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner. 

5. A CARTON OPENED FOR USE IN REMOVING A PORTION OF A CARTON PANEL, THE OPENER INCLUDING AN ELONGATED AREA DEFINED BY A PAIR OF GENERALLY PARALLEL CUT SCORE LINES EXTENDING INTO ONE SURFACE OF SAID PANEL, A SECOND PAIR OF CUT SCORE LINES BETWEEN, AND IN SIDE BY SIDE RELATION TO, THE FIRST NAMED CUT SCORE LINES, AND A PAIR OF CUT LINES EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID PARALLEL CUT SCORE LINES AT THE ENDS THEREOF, AND A TAB DEFINED BY A GENERALLY U-SHAPED CUT LINE BETWEEN SAID PARALLEL CUT SCORE LINES WITH THE BASE OF THE U-SHAPED CUT LINE ADAJCENT TO ONE OF SAID CUT LINES OF SAID PAIR. 